Chapter 21: The Reborn Female Protagonist in Progress

What made Jiang Rou feel flustered wasn’t just the name “Lin Yulan.”

It was the other person hidden behind that name…

Lin Tiyao.

In the original story, she was the true female protagonist of this world.

And Lin Tiyao was Lin Yulan’s cousin.

In the novel that Jiang Rou had read, there was a detailed account of Lin Tiyao’s past, and Jiang Rou remembered the general plot.

As the true female protagonist who had been reborn, Lin Tiyao’s past life had been a failure.

Lin Tiyao came from a good family background, also from a big courtyard family, with both parents being senior military officers.

She was the only daughter in her family and the youngest girl in the entire courtyard.

Thus, she had been pampered and spoiled by everyone as she grew up.

As a result, Lin Tiyao’s personality was quite spoiled and somewhat naive.

During a countryside trip for inspiration, Lin Tiyao had been deceived by a scumbag from the same group.

This scumbag had a good appearance, with a scholarly and gentle face. He often wore white shirts and black pants, and would even tuck a fountain pen in the pocket of his shirt.

His whole demeanor exuded a refined and elegant air.

He would often read Tagore’s poetry collection, speak in flowery language, and occasionally write some sentimental little poems.

He resembled a young and talented scholar.

What was even more important was that this refined and handsome man was completely different from the rough soldiers Lin Tiyao had encountered in her previous life.

She had seen plenty of muscular men and didn’t find them particularly outstanding.

Instead, in terms of aesthetic preferences, she leaned more toward refined scholars.

Thus, after the scumbag had sent her two love poems, Lin Tiyao unhesitatingly fell into the trap of love, starting a romantic relationship with him, and even quickly made plans to marry him.

From then on, she was completely consumed by love, and even though she knew the scumbag was about to be sent to a small village in the countryside, Lin Tiyao still decided to follow him for the sake of love.

Naturally, Lin Tiyao’s parents were not pleased with this marriage.

Both of them were old revolutionaries and immediately saw that such a man, who couldn’t endure hardship and had little ability, would never be able to give Lin Tiyao happiness.

They strongly opposed it.

But for a woman with her head in the clouds of love, her parents’ objections only made Lin Tiyao feel that this was a test for their “beautiful” love.

At this point, she was absolutely unwilling to back down.

So, she caused a scene at home, determined to marry the scumbag.

She even went as far as to…

Break off ties with her father and sever their parent-child relationship.

The delicate girl who had always lived in an ivory tower was unaware of the hardships of the outside world. She didn’t know how many daily struggles, like the trivialities of oil, salt, rice, and firewood, plagued an ordinary life.

Reality would slap her face again and again, harshly.

Until the moment she finally woke up.

The once lofty and proud girl was now struggling to survive in a poor and backward village.

If the barren life was just one straw that nearly broke Lin Yuyao, then the betrayal of a scumbag man was the final blow that caused her heart to die.

The scumbag had pursued Lin Yuyao, but what he truly valued was her status as the daughter of a prominent family and the high-ranking positions of her parents.

He wanted to use Lin Yuyao’s connections to avoid going to the countryside and to escape rural life.

However, the direction things took was contrary to his wishes.

Especially after discovering that Lin Yuyao had severed ties with her parents, he no longer saw any value in her.

The scumbag began to reveal his ugliest nature.

Domestic violence, infidelity.

He did all kinds of filthy and disgusting things!

Lin Yuyao’s life was ultimately forced to an end under such circumstances.

The day of her death was in early October.

She saw on the village commune’s bulletin board the celebratory red characters for National Day and the newspaper.

The newspaper published several photos.

Most of the photos showed men in military uniforms standing on the capital’s Tiananmen Gate.

For a soldier, being able to attend the grand military parade in the capital was the most glorious moment of their life.

In that newspaper, Lin Yuyao saw her brother-in-law, Liang Guangming, and beside him, a tall and strong man with a stern face—Zhou Chongshan.

She could hardly believe that a rural-born soldier, with no family background, could achieve such glory through his own ability.

Lin Yuyao had never met Zhou Chongshan in person.

But she had seen his photo.

It was many years ago.

Her cousin, Lin Yulan, handed her a photo, saying that the man in the picture was Liang Guangming’s comrade-in-arms and had now become a regiment commander, with numerous military achievements.

At thirty years old, he was a late bachelor from a rural background, with two children who were not his biological ones.

The conditions didn’t sound great, but Liang Guangming and Lin Yulan knew Zhou Chongshan well, and they were certain that he was a man who would treat his wife well.

If Lin Yuyao could marry him, her life would not only be free from worries about food and clothing, but she would also definitely be happy.

At that time, Lin Yuyao was still full of youthful dreams. How could she have looked down upon a second-marriage man like Zhou Chongshan?

He was still the kind of rough man she disliked the most.

So, she only took a glance at the photo and immediately discarded it, rejecting the blind date arranged by Lin Yulan.

Although it was just a brief glance.

Lin Yuyao still remembered the scar on Zhou Chongshan’s forehead.

It was exactly the same as the man in the newspaper.

The blind date she had once looked down upon had now become a man covered in medals.

Yet, she herself had tragically died in a remote mountain village.

The regret in Lin Yuyao’s heart was imaginable.

Therefore, after being reborn, Lin Yuyao immediately shed her previous love-stricken mindset and decisively saw through the scumbag’s ugly nature.

She severed all ties and ended their relationship.

She also repaired her bond with her parents and continued being the delicate girl she had once been.

When her cousin Lin Yulan brought out Zhou Chongshan’s photo, attempting to arrange a blind date for her, Lin Yuyao immediately agreed with a nod!

She packed a simple bag and headed to the island.

After that, the story of how Lin Yuyao became prosperous, her family lived happily, and she enjoyed a life full of joy until old age unfolded.

……

Jiang Rou stared blankly at Lin Yulan in front of her.

For a moment, she couldn’t regain her composure.

Because she knew that in three months, there would be a violent storm on this island.

The Original Owner had died three months later.

Lin Yuyao had also come three months after.

The person who played a key role in all of this was Lin Yulan.

“Sister Rou? Sister Rou?”

Seeing Jiang Rou stunned and silent for a long time, Lin Yulan called out several more times.

Jiang Rou quickly snapped back to reality.

She forced herself to suppress the emotions in her heart, calmed her expression, and composed herself.

There were still three months!

As long as she didn’t die, who knew how things would turn out three months from now!

Jiang Rou’s personality was ultimately optimistic and cheerful, and she quickly pulled herself together.

She continued chatting casually with Lin Yulan.

The two of them got to know each other better and discovered that although they had lived in different cities, they were from the same province.

They could be considered fellow countrymen.

This made their bond feel a little closer.

With a smile, Jiang Rou, using some playful words, tried to probe.

“Yulan Jie, you’re so beautiful, you must have other pretty sisters at home, right?”

Lin Yulan smiled gently and shook her head.

“I only have brothers at home, no other sisters. If I had to say… I have a cousin I’m close to, her name is Lin Yuyao. She’s been good-looking since she was young, even more beautiful than me. I heard recently that she joined the Military Unit’s Art Troupe.”

— Joined the Military Unit’s Art Troupe.

Jiang Rou quickly picked up on this piece of information.

In Lin Yuyao’s previous life, she had never joined the Art Troupe.

So now, it seemed that Lin Yuyao had already been reborn and was waiting to meet Zhou Chongshan.

Jiang Rou silently thought to herself.

Lin Yulan then took out the gift she had brought.

She was holding a bamboo basket, covered with a cloth.

“Sister Rou, I know the other sisters-in-law have sent you some things, so I couldn’t come empty-handed either. I brought a few things, I hope you won’t dislike them.”

Lin Yulan gently lifted the cloth covering the basket.

Jiang Rou curiously looked on, and as soon as she saw what was inside the basket, her eyes instantly widened.

Her clear eyes were filled with surprise.

Because inside the basket were several eggs and… a whole basket of Chinese toon.

Jiang Rou stared at the Chinese toon, which nearly overflowed from the basket, and was completely stunned.

So much!

The purple-red leaves, fresh and tender, almost seemed to be dripping with water!

This was Chinese toon, which was more precious than spring rain!

—

As the saying goes, spring rain is as precious as oil.

Chinese toon is even more valuable than oil.

Therefore, Chinese toon is more expensive than spring rain!

—